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LAWRENCE E. EEAZEEQOE JERsEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

` i Letters Patent No. 79,111, dated June 23, 1868.'

rurnovnnnnr uv LIFE-Boers. I y "Yf @be clntule teemh tu in tigen Enters lttenl mit milling und of ligt samt.'

T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCEJRN:

Know yo that I, LAWRENCE F. Freezes, of Jersey City, and county of Hudson, and Stute of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Boats; and I do hereby declare the followingto he zvfull, clear, and exact description of the same,` reference being had to the annexed drawing, nia-king part of this specification, in whlch l i Figures 1, 2, and 3 represent,` respectively, the plan, side view, and midshi'p cross-section 'of a hoat which embodies .my invention.

To enable others skilled in the arts to which my invention ppcrtnns to make and use the same, I will proceed to describe its nature, construction, and application. 9

The object of the lifeboat is to save the lives of passengers by water after a great disaster has happened lto the ship or steamboat carrying-them. To accomplish `this, it is of the highest importance that it may be made fully available when uil on boaru'thc great ship is in'confusion and dcrangcment, and when hothcrew and `passengersmay he in snella state of excitement that all order and discipline are at an4 end, an attempts at method, and all exercise of skill and judgment, rendered impossible. l

For this it is necessary that the boat shall heef such a character that it may be tossed overboard in any manner, however awkward, and into a sea however boisterous,without injury to itself or to the nprightness of its position. And it is further necessary that it shall be provided with stowage for bread and water, of such n character that these may be put in place before the ship leaves port, and he found intactandeesily accessible when required after leaving the ship, notwithstanding theawkwordness and roughness with which it was launched into a stormy eea. It is also necessary `that it may have its oars, compass, mast, and sail attached in such a manner that theywill he certainly available when wanted. It is also essentialthat it shall be capable of pass- A ing through a heavy surf on a sand beaohLand land `its passengers in safety, even though it may have been managed by persons' totally unskilled in `such matters, and they laboring under great excitement.

It is because the so-called life-boats at present carried upon passenger-vessels do not comply with. the foregoing conditions that Ihnve essoyed'to invent improvements, therein. The present klife-boats'ca'n'l claim only that they will not sink when illed with water amlwith` passengers, but they cannot claim that they will not he launched wrong side up, when this is done in astorin at sen. or at anytime, unless care and skill be employed,- or that they will not capsze in very boisterous weather, and drown their passengers, or that they can -pass with safety through n. heavy surf.

The boat I have invented, and will now proceed to describefwill, however, fulfill all the conditions Il have enumerated as essentiaL-and if adopted will, in lconsequence, be a means 'ofssving large numbers of shipwrecked persons who would otherwise perish. i

, My boat is made of sheet metal, and departs as widely from the ordinary forms as the little Monitor did from those of the war-vessels which preceded vher: advent. Instead of adhering to the modied form ot' the dug-out hollow log, as has heretofore been the practice, it more nearly represents tho catamaran `boats used to go through the surf at the Sandwich Islands and on the coast of. Brazil.

It is formed by connecting two hollow semi-cylinders 'A A, made'of sheetmetal, and havingo lengthvequal' to that of the boat, hy u strong framework between them, in such a manner that they will berpaiallcl with each other at a convenient distance apart, having the ilstsides of the semi-cylindersv facing inboard.

These metallic semi-cylinders are divided into a-convenient number of waiter-tight compartments, into some of which maybe stowed breadandwater, access to which is obtained by means of openings,'0 D, on each eide, so arranged as to close water-tight by woll-known means in general-use.

Near each enduf `the s emi`cy1inders there are a hollow'sheetnxetal bow and stermi B, iigs 1 and 3'. AThe dimensionsof these nre such that they give great buoyancyV to the ends of' the boat, at the same time that th form is favornbleto its passage through `tho water. f

When the boutis thrown overboard, it may right itself with ,eitherl side lip; This bow sud-stern Brothersspeciiicationas essential to an etticient life-boat.

fore so arranged that after the boat is in the water they may be drawn up with a small chain, and secured in \the position shown in the drawing, Afavorable to the passage of the boat over the waves, through a surf, 85e.

To accomplish this, a flattened tube is passedl through the centre of motion, and secured to the heads water-tight, and through this is passed a strong iron rod, upon which the whole revolves, as required.

To the inboard ends of the'bow and stern there is attached, by suitable hinges, a. hollow sheet-metal bottom, E, in such a manner'that when they are drawnV up and secured, this is pressed down firmly against the cross-'bars beneath it, forming a good bottom for the boat. 4The corresponding eross-bars above serve as tliwarts for the rowers. The hingesreferred to are shown at F'F, iig. 2,'in dotted lines.'

The row-locks are shown at G G G, figs. 1 and 2. The mast -is stepped at K,'tig. 1, and there is arow-loek for a steering-oar fitted to the stern atL, figs.r 1 and 2.

The compass is stowed in a`covered cup let into one of the semi-cylinders near the stern, and shown at H. When required, it is eigpected that the person conducting the navigation of the boat'will take it out and hold it in his hand, in whichposition the needle will assume its true magnetic position.

The longitudinal bai-s M M, Ste., figs. 1, 2, and 3, are strong pieces of wood, {irmly secured to the semis cylinders, and serve as keels or rails, according to whichever side comics uppermost. To these are attached the lifelines NN, fig. 1.

The oars, with a mast and sail, are all lashed together when the boat is stowed onboard ship, and then lashed to the boat, with the lashings carried all the way around,in such anlanner that when the boat is thrown overboard, the fastenings are accessible whichever side comes uppermost, and even though the equipments may be on the under side, they can be loosened and drawn out from-underneath without diiculty.

It will be observed that a boat of this construction-will comply with all the conditions enumerated in this The provisions and water may be stowed in the compartments provided before the vessel leaves port, and after the b'oat has left the ship, and those are again brought to the mind by the hunger and thirst ot' the passerigers, they are easily accessible whichever side of the boat is uppermost. l

The boat will never capsize in n sea-way or in a surf, because so much of the displacement is at the sides `and ends. The scientific naval architect will understand that this gives so great a'stability that it will be impossibleto capsize it, but a. faniliarillu'stration would be to secure two ordinary boats side by side, at ashortdistance apart, in such a manner that one ot them could not be capsized without carrying the other bodily over it-'a.n impossible feat for any sea or surf likely to be'met with.

Each cf the two semi-'cylinders ofA myboat may be considered as the boat used in the'above su'ppesittious illustration.` i A f The adjustable buoyant bow and stern, which add greatly tothe facility with the' b oat can be navigated, and to the comfort of the passengers carried.`

What I claim as my invention, andrfjr whichl'desire to s eeure Letters Patent, is

1. 4The combination of a buoyant'und 'iijhgthble'bow and stern, so larranged that whichever si'de of the boat iloats uppermost, the desired form may blgiven to the ends' thereof.

2. The adjustable bottom, so arranged that whichever side of the bont is uppermost it may bc secured as low as possible, to give roornto the feet and legs ot'. the persons` carried.

3. Connecting the adjustable bottom to the adjustable bow and stern in suche manner that when the latter` are secured in the desired position, the fermer is also xedas required.

' 4. The provision for stowing bread and water in such a. manner that whichever side of the boat comes' Upprmost, it is all readily accessible to those on board, all `for the purpose and in the manner substantially as described.

f LAWRENCE F. FRAZEE l Witnessesz- Tnsonons Antan,-

Enwmzn O'Cozmon.

d the coupling of them with an adjustable bottom, are fentur'es' 

